American cyclist Kristen Faulkner pulled off a stunning victory in the Olympics women’s road race, breaking away with three kilometers to go to take gold Sunday in Paris. The last time an American woman won the event was at the 1984 Los Angeles Games when Connie Carpenter-Phinney placed first.
Faulkner, a Harvard graduate and former rower, didn’t take up the sport seriously until 2017 and got into cycling by riding her bike around Central Park in New York City. Though she is the reigning U.S. road race champion, Faulkner was a replacement athlete in this Olympic event. Taylor Knibb resigned her position on the U.S. cycling team for the road race, and Faulkner took her place.
The battle for silver and bronze went down to the line in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower with Marianne Vos of the Netherlands beating Lotte Kopecky of Belgium by a fraction of a wheel.
Hungary’s Blanka Vas, in a photo finish, had to settle for fourth.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Alex Broadway / Getty Images)
